Deep, heart wrenching tale

The Innocents by Michael Crummey

Book Review: 5 out of 5 star rating

A young brother and sister, Evered and Ada Best, are only 11 and 12 years old when they are left as orphans when a devastating illness takes their parents and baby sister. Their dilemma is made worse by the fact that they live in an isolated cove in Newfoundland. Their contact with and knowledge of the outside world has been minimal. Their parents were taken ill so quickly that they were unable to prepare their children to survive in this desolate place. They know that a ship named “The Hope” comes once a year and that their father took his boat out to the ship with his yearly fish catch and returned with supplies. Now the young boy is in the position of providing for himself and his sister with little knowledge of how to do that. They soon learn how in debt to the owner of “The Hope” they are.

This is much more than a book about survival. It’s a deep look at family and loyalty. I’ve seen comparisons to Charles Dickens’ work and this story. The imperiled, hungry children, the colorful characters they come into contact with and the brilliant writing make it easy to see why. This author is a poet and the language he uses is just lovely. He adds quite a few quaint Newfoundland phrases that I wasn’t familiar with but enjoyed. It’s truly heart wrenching to read of the ebb and flow of the relationship between this brother and sister over the years and the battles they faced, not only with the world around them but with each other. I will now be on the lookout for other books from this excellent author.

Most highly recommended.

This book was given to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.